The discovery is encouraging for ten million people suffering fromosteoarthritis in France. Researchers from Inserm and the University of Strasbourg presented, in the review Nature Communication this May 14, a bandage to treat this disease destroying the joints. Applied directly to the epidermis, like a “second skin”, it would indeed regenerate the cartilages in the event of significant internal lesions caused by this chronic and degenerative pathology.
A real regeneration of the cartilage
The dressing is made up of two successive layers. The first, which acts as a support, is a “Membrane composed of nanofibers of polymers and provided with small vesicles containing growth factors in amounts similar to those which our cells themselves secrete”, explain the researchers in a press release. The second is a “Hydrogel layer loaded with hyaluronic acid and stem cells from the bone marrow of the patient himself”. It is this substance that will take care of rebuilding the connective tissue.
Because the“We are no longer just in repair, we are really talking about regeneration of articular cartilage”, continue the scientists. The team has already carried out tests on rodents, as well as on sheep and goats, “Models very suitable for the comparative study of cartilages with humans”. The objective is now to test the dressing at the latter.
A pathology for the moment incurable
Today, there is currently no treatment that can cure osteoarthritis. In the event of pain, the cartilage is temporarily replaced to relieve the patient. Treatments consist of injecting anti-inflammatory drugs and hyaluronic acid to improve the viscosity of the joint. Stem cells can also be used, as they partly control inflammation. Only the fitting of a prosthesis is a definitive solution. But the procedure can be invasive and painful for the patient, and be the source of side effects. THE’osteoarticular implant presented by researchers can therefore constitute a real innovation.
Read also :
- Osteoarthritis: natural solutions that relieve
- Osteoarthritis: we correct received ideas
